12 people were killed and seven others injured when a 50-year-old three-storey building collapsed in B Cabin area in Mumbai’s twin suburb of Thane in early hours of Tuesday.
Fire Brigade and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel were engaged in the rescue operation. According to local residents some more people could be trapped in the debris.
The building Krishna Nivas was in a dilapidated condition and had been declared dangerous by Thane Municipal Corporation. Some residents had vacated the building, but many others continued to reside in the building.
NCP MLA from Thane Jirendra Awhad, who visited the collapse site, said Krishna Nivas was one of the several old buildings which are more than 50 years old, and the owners of such buildings ignored repairs. “In such buildings built under the pagri system of rent, the owner is reluctant to put his own money and carry out repairs. The owner waits for his tenants to vacate the building so that he can get it redeveloped and make profit. The government must urgently conduct a survey of such buildings,” he said.
This is the second building collapse reported from Thane recently. On July 28, a residential building had collapsed in Thakurli in Thane, killing nine.
